PER CURIAM:
Joshua Thomas Hill ("Hill") appeals his 192-month sentence, imposed after he pled guilty to conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1594(c). On appeal, Hill claims the district court erred by applying: (1) a two-level enhancement for using a computer to solicit a person to engage in unlawful sexual activity with a minor pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2G1.3(b)(3)(B); and (2) another two-level enhancement for his supervisory role in the offense pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c). Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm.
On February 19, 2012, Hill and his accomplices, Fabian Terran Murray ("Murray") and Clinton Saintvil ("Saintvil"), picked up two 14-year-old girls from a park with the intent of using them as prostitutes. The group traveled to a local hotel where Hill rented a room in his name and had sex with the girls. Hill paid Saintvil for picking up the girls and later asked Saintvil for his wife, Nicole Saintvil ("Mrs. Saintvil"), to post classified ads of the two on the internet. To that end, Hill took nude photographs of the girls on his phone and sent the pictures to Mrs. Saintvil; however, she informed Hill that the nude photographs could not be used online. Hill then photographed the girls in undergarments and sent the pictures to Mrs. Saintvil, who then used them to place online ads.
Hill offered the girls to clients for sexual acts, setting the prices charged and taking the illicit proceeds. Hill used this money
During the same time period, Hill also enlisted Saintvil's assistance to take a third young woman to various locations where she engaged in prostitution. As with the other two minors, Hill used internet ads to obtain clients for her.
Hill was indicted in federal court along with Murray and Saintvil for conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking and substantive counts of child sex trafficking in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1594(c) and 1591(a)(1).
As noted above, Hill first challenges the district court's application of the computer-use enhancement in calculating his sentence. If a district court improperly calculates the appropriate sentencing guidelines range, the court commits procedural error. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51, 128 S.Ct. 586, 597, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). This Court reviews the district court's interpretation and application of the guidelines to factual findings de novo. United States v. Dougherty, 754 F.3d 1353, 1358 (11th Cir. 2014). The party challenging the sentence has the burden of showing the sentence to be procedurally unreasonable. See United States v. Rodriguez, 628 F.3d 1258, 1264 (11th Cir.2010).
In pertinent part, the sentencing guidelines provide for a two-level enhancement if the defendant used a computer to "(A) persuade, induce, entice, coerce, or facilitate the travel of, the minor to engage in prohibited sexual conduct; or (B) entice, encourage, offer, or solicit a person to engage in prohibited sexual conduct with the minor." U.S.S.G. § 2G1.3(b)(3). In turn, application note 4 states:
U.S.S.G. § 2G1.3, cmt. n.4. The application note is authoritative unless we determine that it "is inconsistent with, or a plainly erroneous reading of, that guideline." Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36, 38, 113 S.Ct. 1913, 1915, 123 L.Ed.2d 598 (1993).
Hill contends that the application note is consistent with the guideline, and therefore, the district court erred in applying the enhancement because he did not use a computer to communicate with the minors or a person who exercises control over the minors. We have not issued an opinion
Today, we adopt the Fifth Circuit's well-reasoned analysis. See Pringler, 765 F.3d at 451-56. As in Pringler, Hill used a computer to advertise the sexual services of minors. Hill used his cellphone (itself a kind of computer)
Application note 8 stated:
(emphasis added). Crucially, the nearly identical application note specifies that it applies, or is logical, only to Subsection 3(A) of the enhancement, not to the entire enhancement.
Id. at 454-55 (footnote omitted).
Because the application note is inconsistent with the plain language of U.S.S.G. § 2G1.3(b)(3)(B), the plain language of the guideline controls. Stinson, 508 U.S. at 38, 113 S.Ct. at 1915. Here, Hill's actions fall squarely within the language of the enhancement; he used his cellphone to place online ads offering young girls for prohibited purposes. Thus, the district court did not err in increasing his offense level.
Hill also asserts that the district court erred by enhancing his base offense level for his role as an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c). A district court may commit procedural error by selecting a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts. Gall, 552 U.S. at 51, 128 S.Ct. at 597. The district court's determination of the defendant's role in the criminal offense is a finding of fact we review for clear error. United States v. Rodriguez De Varon, 175 F.3d 930, 937 (11th Cir.1999) (en banc). A factual finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, we are left with the definite and firm conviction, after review of the entire evidence, that a mistake has been made. United States v. Barrington, 648 F.3d 1178, 1195 (11th Cir.2011).
The role enhancement under § 3B1.1(c) provides for a two-level increase where "the defendant was an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor" in a criminal activity involving fewer than five people. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c). Application note 4 lists a number of factors for the district court to consider in determining the defendant's role in the offense, including the following:
Id. § 3B1.1(c), cmt. n.4. An individual has a supervisory or managerial role where, for example, he recruits others to make his
The district court's finding that Hill exercised a supervisory role in the criminal scheme was not clearly erroneous. See Njau, 386 F.3d at 1041. Hill actively recruited Saintvil and his wife to aid him in his criminal scheme, paying them for the services they rendered. Hill arranged transportation for the young girls to meet clients, set the prices they were to charge, and kept the majority of the illegal gains for himself. He also took the lewd photographs Mrs. Saintvil posted online at Hill's direction. Based on these facts, the district court appropriately added two levels pursuant to § 3B1.1(c).
AFFIRMED.